This week I’ll be mainly covering the events that feel the most cool, fun, and creative in the tech space/and also non tech space.

You can expect a mix of founder events, AI/tech gatherings, dinners, pop-ups, etc. As always, I’ll also highlight a few things happening in the startup scene that are worth having on your radar.

Let’s get into it :)

Sponsor spotlight: Rho and MongoDB

This newsletter and our Corgi events this week run with the support of two sponsors!

Rho is the NYC-built finance platform for startups: banking, corporate cards, expense management, and treasury in one place, so your ops person stops living in five tabs. If you just raised, this is where the money should sit.

MongoDB the NYC-headquartered database powering a huge chunk of the apps you use daily.

Thanks to both for backing the community <3

Events worth attending this week

Founders Pottery Night

Thursday, September 3 · Evening · Corgi Cafe
A low-key night for founders and operators where you can learn how to do something creative and fun with pottery!

Best for: Meeting other founders and operators in a smaller setting.
RSVP here: https://luma.com/br19rew5.

Frontier Table NYC: AI Founder Dinner

Wednesday, September 2 · Evening
A curated dinner for AI founders that are interested in connect with other people in the space.

RSVP here: https://luma.com/frontierTableNYC

The New York Philosophy Club: Williamsburg

Wednesday, September 2 · Evening
​They discuss the night’s topic in three half-hour sessions, speaking with new groups each time. A fun way to meet new people in a casual environment.

RSVP here: https://luma.com/1iqlegcw

Flow State Lounge by Boundless | NYC

Thursday, September 10 · All Day

​A one-day home base for founders and technical teams building with AI. This is your space to work on whatever you want. At The Flow State Lounge by Boundless.

RSVP here: https://luma.com/boundlessflowstate

What’s happening in NYC tech

Blank Street raised $75 million

Blank Street, the small-format coffee and matcha chain, raised $75M in Series C funding led by General Atlantic with participation from General Catalyst, Left Lane Capital, and Tiger Global, bringing total equity funding to $224.7M. Venture-backed cafes are officially a category. We take this personally, and we take it as validation. Coffee plus community is a real business.

Cityblock Health raised $116 million and bought a company the same day

Cityblock Health, which delivers integrated primary care, behavioral health, and social services to Medicaid and dual-eligible members, raised a $116M Series E led by General Catalyst and simultaneously announced an all-stock acquisition of rural provider Homeward Health, positioning the combined platform to serve the 120 million people in government-sponsored healthcare programs. Raise and acquire in one move. NYC healthtech isn’t slowing down, it’s consolidating.

Ex-Wunderkind founders are back with Queen One

Ryan Urban and Maricor Resente, who built Wunderkind into one of ecommerce’s most widely used marketing platforms, raised $25M for Queen One as brands demand more revenue and lower costs from their commerce stack. Second-time founders raising big out of the gate for boring-but-massive infrastructure. That’s the NYC playbook right now. Bonus: robotics startup Ultra also pulled in $57.1M for AI-powered warehouse automation, so the money isn’t only going to software this week.

From Corgi

Corgi is a full-stack AI insurance carrier for startups and businesses. You can learn more at corgi.com.

We’ve been hosting events at our Corgi Cafe location, including founder dinners, pasta-making nights, happy hours and more creative experiences.

We’ll be announcing more events soon, so keep an eye out and subscribe to our calendar if you want to come to one.

Hosting something interesting?

If you want to host an event with us at the Corgi Cafe, send me an inquiry at abril@corgi.com.

I’m especially interested in smaller founder dinners, product launches, community events, creative activations, and anything that looks tasteful and curated!

Feel free to subscribe for the upcoming weeks!

See you next week :)

Abril

This week is a special one: we’re highlighting one of the biggest openings in NYC tech: Corgi Cafe, our new 24/7 home for founders, builders, and anyone who needs wants to be in a work environment at late hours.

We also want to give a shoutout to the companies that helped make our opening possible:

• Antimetal: An autonomous production platform that uses AI agents to understand, diagnose, fix, and prevent issues across production infrastructure. Antimetal

• MongoDB: A modern data platform and document database used by developers to build and scale applications, including AI-native products. MongoDB

• Rippling: A workforce management platform that brings HR, payroll, IT, finance, and employee operations into one system. Rippling

• Oasis: A multiplayer AI workspace where teams can work alongside AI agents, collaborate in shared rooms, and build specialized agent fleets. Oasis

Huge thank you to all of them for supporting the Corgi Cafe opening 🧡

Events worth attending this week

Corgi Breakfast Founders Club

Thursday, August 27 · Morning · Corgi Cafe

We’re bringing together a group of founders and people working across startups for bagels, matcha, and good conversations at our new Corgi Cafe location.

Best for: Meeting other founders and operators in a smaller setting.

RSVP here: https://luma.com/corginyc-yw1o

August Tech Rooftop Mixer

Tuesday, August 25 · Evening · Arlo Williamsburg

A fun get-together mixer with founders, operators and builders in the rooftop of the Arlo williamsburg to celebrate the last couple of weeks of summer.

RSVP here: https://luma.com/rooftopmixeraugust

pickleball but make it a party

Tuesday, August 25 - Evening

A pickeball night for creators, 30 spots, and some pizza to eat while you play.

RSVP here: https://luma.com/9ivkgzkv

women in tech art cafe @ happy medium

Wednesday, August 26 - Afternoon

​warp.co is hosting an art cafe for women in tech.

​take your well deserved art break and have some fun, with some chit chat on the side too.

RSVP here: https://luma.com/2zo6g6uz

What’s happening in NYC tech

Daytona raised $48.3 million

NYC-based Daytona raised $48.3 million to build secure cloud infrastructure where AI agents can execute code and use tools autonomously. The next AI gold rush might be selling agents somewhere safe to work.

Healthtech had a very big week

K Health raised $58.9 million, while Aligned Marketplace announced $20 million in new capital to connect employers with independent primary-care practices.

Meanwhile, Spotify founder Daniel Ek’s Neko Health announced its first U.S. clinic in SoHo, with more than 25,000 New Yorkers already on the waitlist. Healthcare is starting to look a lot more like consumer tech: better branding, more convenient experiences and people actually excited to try it.

EliseAI could be NYC’s next mega-round

NYC-based EliseAI is reportedly in talks to raise $300 million at a $3.7 billion valuation. The company builds AI assistants that automate everyday operations for housing providers, including apartment tours, maintenance requests and tenant communication.

The deal is not finalized yet, but it’s another sign that some of the biggest AI companies coming out of NYC aren’t building flashy consumer apps. They’re mostly automating the expensive and repetitive workflows inside massive industries.

From Corgi

Corgi is a full-stack AI insurance carrier for startups and businesses. You can learn more at corgi.com.

We’ve been hosting events at our Corgi Cafe location, including founder dinners, pasta-making nights, happy hours and more creative experiences.

We’ll be announcing more events soon, so keep an eye out and subscribe to our calendar if you want to come to one.

Hosting something interesting?

If you want to host an event with us at the Corgi Cafe, send me an inquiry at abril@corgi.com.

I’m especially interested in smaller founder dinners, product launches, community events, creative activations, and anything that looks tasteful and curated!

Feel free to subscribe for the upcoming weeks!

See you next week :)

Abril

Hola, good to see you here for another week!

This week I’ll be mainly covering the events that feel the most cool, fun, and creative in the tech space/and also non tech space.

You can expect a mix of founder events, AI/tech gatherings, dinners, pop-ups, etc. As always, I’ll also highlight a few things happening in the startup scene that are worth having on your radar.

Let’s get into it :)

The events worth attending

Corgi Breakfast Founders Club

Tuesday, August 11 · Morning · Corgi Cafe

We’re bringing together a small group of founders and people working across startups for bagels, matcha, and good conversations at our upcoming Corgi Cafe location.

Best for: Meeting other founders and operators in a smaller setting.

RSVP here: https://luma.com/397ng478

Best AI event

New York | Claude & Coffee

Tuesday, August 11 - Afternoon

The Claude community is hosting a coworking event with coffee and snacks for founders, creators, operators, marketers, developers, and AI enthusiasts.

RSVP here: https://luma.com/claude-qxlq

Best casual & fun event

Backgammon Night at Huda

Wednesday, August 12 - Evening

Best for: Meeting people casually and having fun while playing some board games -mostly backgammon-

RSVP here: https://luma.com/lc5urk89

Best event for founders

Startup founders happy hour w/ Merge & Corgi

Wednesday, August 12 - Afternoon

RSVP here: https://luma.com/vxh2mlcn

Best creative tech event

The creative edge

Thursday, August 13 - Afternoon

Best for: Designers, product managers, engineers, and anyone in the AI space that wants to explore and meet people in the creative side.

RSVP here: https://luma.com/0t9hold9

Best party + drinks event

iMessage party at corgi cafe

Friday, August 15 - Evening

Very casual + party vibe at the Corgi Cafe with Linq and Agentcard. Open bar and chill music.

RSVP here: https://luma.com/equc5dcn

What’s happening in NYC tech

Pinegap raised $8 million

NYC-based Pinegap raised an $8 million Series A to build AI infrastructure for institutional investment research. The platform basically automates a lot of the work buy-side analysts at hedge funds and mutual funds spend their days doing. Another very NYC combination: AI + finance + extremely expensive workflows.

Robotics is quietly having a moment

Antioch raised $31.4 million to build a simulation platform where robotics companies can build and test autonomous systems entirely in software before deploying them in the real world. Physical AI has been getting louder in the city, and now more of that energy seems to be making its way into the NYC ecosystem too.

IRL is becoming startup distribution again

Another thing I keep seeing across X: founder dinners, coworking days and small curated events everywhere. One of our founder dinners recently pulled 200+ sign-ups, and founders are actively organizing coworking + dinner groups around the city.

It feels like people realized that after spending all day building AI products online, the highest-leverage distribution might still be getting 30 interesting people in a room.

Corgi Cafe 👀

And speaking of IRL: the Corgi Cafe NYC location is officially being built out and should open its doors in the next couple of weeks 👀

Read more here: https://www.curbed.com/article/corgi-cafe-nyc-ai-insurance-startup.html

Soon you’ll have another place in NYC to work, meet other founders or just hang out 24/7.

We recently opened the Corgi Cafe in London and the opening went mega viral, with a ton of people showing up and the space quickly becoming a gathering spot for the local tech community.

Now we’re bringing that same energy to NYC, with a lot more events, activations, and fun stuff planned around the space.

More on this very soon :)

From Corgi

Corgi is a full-stack AI insurance carrier for startups and businesses. You can learn more at corgi.com.

We’ve been hosting events from our upcoming Corgi Cafe location, including founder dinners, pasta-making nights, happy hours and more creative experiences.

We’ll be announcing more events soon, so keep an eye out and subscribe to our calendar if you want to come to one.

Hosting something interesting?

Send me your event and other inquiries at abril@corgi.com if you think it should be included in next week’s roundup.

I’m especially interested in smaller founder dinners, product launches, community events, creative activations, and anything that looks tasteful and curated!

Feel free to subscribe for the upcoming weeks!

See you next week :)

Abril

NYC has a lot happening every week, but the actually good stuff is usually spread across 20 different Luma calendars, private group chats, and last-minute posts on X.

So, I’m starting a weekly roundup of the events I think are worth attending, what’s happening across the NYC startup scene, and a few other things around the city that are worth knowing about.

The events worth attending

🥯 Corgi Breakfast Founders Club

Tuesday, August 4 · Morning · Corgi Cafe

We’re bringing together a small group of founders and people working across startups for bagels, matcha, and good conversations at our upcoming Corgi Cafe location.

Best for: Meeting other founders and operators in a smaller setting.

RSVP here: https://luma.com/tn61n9pj

Best AI event

Sovereign AI: A Fight for the Future of Freedom

Tuesday, August 4 - Afternoon

A conversation on open-source AI, privacy, and why individual control over AI matters.

Best for: AI founders, engineers and investors.

RSVP here: https://luma.com/1pme2n4b

Best casual tech event

Founder Board Game Night

Tuesday, August 4 - Evening

Best for: Meeting people and having fun while playing some board games!

RSVP here: https://luma.com/rhh6bj5y

Best for founders raising

Techyon x FirstMark @ Summit One

Thursday, August 6 - Evening

Best for: Founders currently raising or planning to raise soon.

RSVP here: https://luma.com/cmj3fivs

The wildcard

The New York Philosophy Club: Williamsburg

Wednesday, August 5, McCarren Parkhouse

Not necessarily a traditional tech event, but probably one of the more interesting rooms to be in this week.

RSVP here: https://luma.com/gmhsu3uj

What’s happening in NYC tech

Harmony raised $34 million

NYC-based Harmony raised a $34 million seed round to build AI agents that handle employee requests across IT, HR, finance, legal, and other internal teams directly through Slack and Microsoft Teams. A pretty massive seed round, but the founders previously built Epsagon, which was acquired by Cisco.

Ellis launched out of stealth

Ellis launched with more than $10 million in funding to build an AI-native operating platform for private credit managers. The product uses AI agents to organize data, reconcile information, and automate a lot of the manual work behind private credit.

Everyone is suddenly building AI for boring workflows

The current trend seems to be less about building another general AI assistant and more about automating very specific and expensive workflows. Harmony is doing it for employee operations, Ellis for private credit, Cashboard for finance teams, and Genius AI for service businesses. My read is that this is where NYC has a pretty good leverage and advantage: AI applied to finance, enterprise, and real-world businesses.

From Corgi

Corgi is a full-stack AI insurance carrier for startups and businesses. You can learn more at corgi.com.

We’ve been hosting events from our upcoming Corgi Cafe location including founder dinners, pasta-making nights, happy hours and more creative experiences.

We’ll be announcing more events soon, so keep an eye out and subscribe to our calendar here if you want to come to one.

Hosting something interesting?

Send me your event and other inquiries at abril@corgi.com if you think it should be included in next week’s roundup.

I’m especially interested in smaller founder dinners, product launches, community events, creative activations, and anything that looks tasteful and curated!

Feel free to subscribe for the upcoming weeks!

See you next week :)

Abril

neighborhoods i recommend

(i recommend airbnbs for each neighborhood, but you can also look for hotels)

• ⭐Palermo (Soho/Hollywood): cafés, brunch, design shops, street art, buzzy dinners & bars.

• Recoleta: belle époque architecture neighborhood, it has a lot of nice shops but it is less young.

• San Telmo: cobblestones, antiques, it feels very local

restaurants i love

parrillas / bbq / asado

• ⭐ Don Julio – world-famous parrilla, imo the best of the best

• El Preferido de Palermo – old-school bodegón (sister to Don Julio).

• La Cabrera - classic

• Elena (Four Seasons) – luxe steak/charcuterie.

contemporary / fine dining

• ⭐ Aramburu – Michelin-star tasting menu.

• Mishiguene – modern Jewish.

• Niño Gordo – wood-fired Nikkei/Asian grill fun.

• ⭐ Mutsuhito Omakase

• ⭐ Anchoita

• Gardiner

• ROLDAN

casual dinners / brunch

• Chori – choripanes (very traditional argentinian)

• ⭐ La Ventana Anafe

• Piedra Pasillo al Fondo

• MartI (brunch)

• Invernadero

• ⭐ Cochinchina

• Oli (brunch)

• La Ferneteria

rooftops

• Trade Sky Bar

• Alvear Roof Bar

• Florida 165

coffee & bakeries

• ⭐ Surry Hills

• Cuervo Cafe

• Elsa Cafe

• Cinna Coffee & Roll (the BEST cinnamon rolls)

• Croma Cafe

• PADRE

• ⭐ Blanca Coffee shop

• Kaldi

• Birkin

• ⭐ Oli

• Cafe.Te

• ⭐ Piccolina

museums & culture

• ⭐ MALBA – Latin American art (my favorite in BA)

• Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes – the national collection.

• Teatro Colón – very beautiful theater

• Usina del Arte – concerts/exhibitions in La Boca

• Museo Nacional de Arte Decorativo – palace + decorative arts

bars & nighttime

• ⭐Uptown (my favorite) — speakasy of the NYC subway, also turns into a reggaeton club after midnight

• Florería Atlántico – speakeasy flower shop

• Tres Monos – very urban and chill spot

• Presidente Bar – opulent, more fancy and classic cocktails in Recoleta

• Bimbi-nilo — vinil bar

• Rey de Copas

• Verne Club

• ⭐ Backroom Bar

• Frank’s - speakeasy

nightclubs

• JET buenos aires

• Afrika

• Go for More

• BePOP (jazz club)

outdoors & chill

• Reserva Ecológica Costanera Sur – very green space next to the river

• Jardín Japonés – japanese garden and flowers in Palermo

• El Ateneo Grand Splendid – one of the world’s most beautiful bookstores

• Galerias Pacifico (very pretty mall)

day trips

• Tigre Delta – suburban train to Tigre, the north side of Buenos Aires

• Colonia del Sacramento (Uruguay) – 1–1.5h ferry; check Buquebus

practical tips

• Getting around: I recommend to download Cabify, usually better than Uber.

• Money: Foreign cards typically process at the “MEP/tourist” rate close to blue; many small places still prefer cash.

• When to reserve: Book tasting menus (Aramburu) and parrillas (Don Julio/Elena) with time ahead and show up early or join waitlists for the rest of the spots.

• Gifts: GET your family/friends some alfajores from Havanna or local dulce de leche! Also do not forget about the wine!!!

• Travel: if you have time, pls go to patagonia, it’s incredibly beautiful and i’d always recommend going to the hotel Llao Llao for a weekend.

I was born in the suburbs of Buenos Aires, one hour away from the city. Not the most beautiful town, in fact, pretty dangerous and dirty. Middle-low class. My grandma and mom raised me, single-child, and never met my dad. Spent a lot of time on the computer since the moment I was born. But I’d actually never imagined that a kid like me, without finishing high school, skipping college, from a poor town in Argentina would be able to work in such a competitive industry and make money in USD at 17. 

All of this started in 2020, it was my last year of high school and that time was tough. The year of covid happening, almost an entire year of quarantine, struggling with financial stuff (because Argentina reached peak of inflation, and my family closed the business given the situation) 

I was really questioning myself what I’d do with my life now. What’s next for me if there’s no hope in a country with 211% annual inflation, 46% of the population in poverty and misery. The necessity of actually helping my future self and my family after a huge economic breakdown was something that lived on my head the entire year; 

So I thought: I want to fix my life. I don’t want this for my future. Seeing myself spending 5 years in the university, without a job (or with one but making miserable devalued money) and seeing young people around me with degrees and still not being financially free —the thought of it made me sick. 

I also wanted to leave my house, as the environment was toxic and chaotic. My mom was struggling with depression and unemployment, and my grandma had suffered a stroke. These challenges created my determination to work hard. I believe that in the most uncomfortable moments, you find the actual motivation to seek and find opportunities that will lift you out of them.

Casually I was spending time on twitter and I saw that someone shared a course about Javascript and Web Development. I started to do research on how the work looked like, how much you can get paid, things you can build. And I actually loved it— the idea of being able to make money in a stable currency working for another country was like a dream (and I felt it difficult to reach at that time) but not impossible. So I forced myself to learn how to code to get a job later that year. 

Surprisingly, I did teach myself how to code and got a job in a gaming company as a frontend developer, at that time they were paying me only $100 USD. It was an amazing deal for me, getting experience and also a salary in dollars? Dream job. I was so into my role that I just preferred to focus on that. Instead of going to high school, I was spending my time working with a shitty computer that later on will become a better one, and that later on will bring me more opportunities. 

It’s something that I do not regret at all. I’ve always been self-taught at the end of the day. But dropping out of high school is like jumping to a pool with no water without even knowing what is on there. In a country like Argentina, with almost no opportunities, it was a high-risk decision. It required me to have a bunch of self-confidence and motivation.

Choosing the Right Industry: Why Crypto? 

When I started to make money and started thinking like an adult, I started to see that the inflation and devaluation of the currency actually sucked. Before, it was just something that adults were complaining about. But then I started to live that situation in first hand. 

So I discovered a way to have the savings of my current job on something easier to access (I couldn’t access a proper bank account, I was 17, no credit score, no cards.)

Stablecoins. I started to play with exchanges and find out that you can open an account without difficult requirements and not even needing to present any documents. And this is when I deep dive into the industry: since I was already working as a developer, I got the interest on how can I actually work on this and how everything works behind, it was really cool. So that’s when I transitioned to solidity and, it was really hot at that time (imagine end of 2020) not too much supply of solidity devs and I saw a huge opportunity. 

So I got my first job as a solidity developer a few months after and been working with amazing engineers that were able to teach me and that helped me during the way. I was still not making as much money (I think I was making $900 usd per month) but it was more than any 18 year old kid will do without a degree. 

The limitation I felt at that time was that I was struggling with my English, I didn’t speak it at all. “Jumping” to a better salary (aka, working in a US/worldwide company) seemed out of reach. So I said; f*ck it, I’ll learn english. Dedication and discipline is all that matters in these moments, here we go again.

Two years later, in 2022, I got my first American job doing devrel. That’s when I learned the most English—using Google Translate during meetings at first—but I got to scale my salary to $70K annually at just 19 years old, and again, for Argentina is something incredible. I was saving a lot, investing in crypto and DeFi, and feeling great about my progress.

Choosing crypto as my industry over the past four years has been the best decision I’ve made. It’s an industry that doesn’t care if you have a degree, attended an Ivy League school, or where you come from. If you’re passionate, hard-working, and can show results, you’re in.

Working as a Developer Relations also taught me how to communicate technical concepts, teach others, learn new things, and improve my English skills. It even opened doors for me to travel the world—I’ve visited five continents so far in the last 2 years. Before joining this industry, I had never left my country, and that’s still something that still shocks me —how scalable your life can be.

I have many other reasons why I choose this industry but that is for another blog post.

Getting a O-1 “Extraordinary Ability” Visa

I visited the United States for the first time in 2023 and explored New York. I completely fell in love with the country, its people, and especially New York City—the heavy energy and competitive landscape made me sense big opportunities.

I’m someone who likes challenges and dislikes staying in my comfort zone. I reached a point in my life where I wanted more, to push myself even further, and open new doors. Moving to a place like America felt like the right step.

Don’t get me wrong, I love Argentina. One of my goals is to contribute to making Argentina great again—onboarding millions to build in the industry and seeing the country return to what it was.

But your early 20s are supposed to be for new challenges, new life experiences and… why not?. So I’ve applied for an O-1 visa. After working hard on my case with my attorneys, I finally got it approved, at 21 years old. I presented all my work from the past years, my articles, my workshops, the startup I’ve built (yes, I also built a company) and my persona—to the USCIS.

I’ve had a picture of New York City on my vision board since I was a little kid, dreaming of someday visiting the city. After a year of just being a tourist in America, I’m now able to live here for a few years and experience it firsthand. When I got approved, I was overwhelmed with emotions, crying all day and kind of in shock. Four years of hard work finally paid off.

Believing in Yourself

I’ve had countless moments where I doubted myself, feeling like I wasn’t good enough and that it would never work out. Add to that the voices of family and strangers telling me I was crazy for dropping out of high school and not following the traditional path. But pushing through those thoughts requires a certain level of confidence and determination that keeps you focused, despite the fears. What if I fail and end up miserable? What if I don’t reach my financial goals and have to go back to a toxic environment? What if I can’t get the visa and end up disappointed in myself? The 'what ifs' can be endless.

If I hadn’t believed in myself, if I had just sat there complaining about how hard life is, I wouldn’t be where I am today. Life is about taking risks.

That kid with dreams, fears, and passion is still alive in me, and I’ll never lose her. It’s important not to.

I’m excited to keep contributing to the industry, keep learning about things that I feel passionate about and the future in general. Hopefully this post helps you to work hard for your dreams, and specially knowing why and what do you want to do. I strongly believe that money is not everything at the end of the day, and waking up feeling that you’re pursuing an objective feels even more exciting.